As ever, HM Revenue and Customs are under serious pressure to raise additional tax revenue. It is no secret that HMRC are investing huge resources into tax avoidance this year… a staggering £1billion.

HMRC’s new chief executive, Lesley Strathie, said that the organisation would “relentlessly pursue those who bent or broke the rules”.

In the Revenue’s annual litigation and settlement review, it resolved to take more people to court to recover tax instead of negotiating out-of-court settlements.

Toby Ryland, partner of Blick Rothenberg firm of accountants, warned: “Taxpayers can expect far more frequent enforcement actions, inquiries and challenges to their tax affairs and far greater scrutiny of their affairs, even where they have structured their finances within the letter of the law”.

Given the scale of this crack down it is more pertinent than ever for individuals and businesses to have tax investigation insurance in place. Bear in mind that you do not need to have done anything wrong to be targeted for an investigation, and in terms of professional fees, it can be expensive to defend yourself.